Automakers Lay Foundation for Semi-Autonomous Driving

Concerns over distraction in the vehicle may be hastening the auto industry's move toward semi-autonomous driving. A spate of recent studies indicates that risky behavior by drivers is on the rise, while new safety technologies, such as auto-braking, are reducing the frequency and severity of crashes. Moreover, the combination of those risky behaviors and technological successes seems to be paving the way for more advanced safety features, such as semi-autonomous steering.

"We know that people call and text a lot while they're driving," Jeremy Salinger, innovation program manager for General Motors, told us. "We're just trying to make the car safer, given the fact that they're doing these sorts of things."

Jeremy Salinger of GM: "If you're not careful in the way you implement this technology, people will be less attentive to the road than they are now."

Indeed, the new technologies appear to be boosting safety. A recent study by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) showed that forward collision avoidance systems, particularly those that can brake autonomously, are reducing crashes. On Acura, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo vehicles, property damage liability frequencies were 14 percent lower than on vehicles without autonomous braking, the HLDI study said.

Autonomous braking, however, may only be the tip of the trend. GM recently announced that it is ratcheting up its semi-autonomous effort by road-testing a technology called "Super Cruise," capable of fully automatic braking, steering, and lane-centering.

Interest in such systems appears to be partially due to the increased use of smartphones and other electronic technologies in the car. A 2011 study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety revealed that 68 percent of drivers admitted to having talked on a cellphone while driving and 35 percent admitted to reading emails or typing text messages while driving. Ironically, 95 percent of those surveyed said they viewed both of those chores as serious threats to their own personal safety, the study showed. "It's not the only reason we're considering semi-autonomous technology, but it's an added incentive," Salinger said.

Before putting next-level technology on the road, however, GM engineers are studying its effect on the attentiveness of drivers. The giant automaker recently teamed with Virginia Tech University to examine Super Cruise technology in a driving simulator and in vehicles on a GM test track in Michigan. The company's engineers hope to use the results to create guidelines for future semi-autonomous systems. "If you're not careful in the way you implement this technology, people will be less attentive to the road than they are now," Salinger said. "But if you're careful in the way you do it, you won't degrade their attentiveness."

GM's goal is for the Super Cruise technology to be available in selected Cadillac vehicles by mid-decade. The idea of the technology is to ease the driver's workload -- on long road trips and in bumper-to-bumper traffic -- by relying on fusion of radar, ultrasonic sensors, cameras, and GPS technology.

Salinger said that many consumers have indicated in focus groups that they aren't interested in relinquishing control to automatic braking and steering systems, despite increased use of smartphones in vehicles. "There are those who love to drive and don't want to give up control," he said. "And then there are those for whom driving itself is the distraction. On this matter, we know that the population is not homogeneous."

I remember watching Humvees driving by with nobody in them while working at Lockheed Martin's Colorado facility. Talk about autonomous but then again, they were probably driven remotely through RC as they were outfitted with an antenna array.

I think the idea of semi-automatic driving can be a good one if used properly. In traffic it would allow cars to be closer together with an automatic brake to maintain a safe distance according to vehicle speed. On long drives the driver could get more comfortable by not having to steer and be locked behind the wheel. The danger would be if the system is not foolproof people would br hurt andf lawyers would get richer.

It's worth noting that California Governor Jerry Brown signed an autonomous vehicles bill into law last week, legalizing the testing of self-driving cars on the road in that state. The bill will set up procedures and requirements for determining when the cars are road-ready.

the new technology for automakers are really getting very competitive. not just because they produce very high quality car parts but also because of their very high-end gadgets and technology installed in their cars. just can't wait to see what's next in line.

The point of tailgating is well understood, but with drivers being more competitive and less courteous and road sharing, the system cannot work. The system will brake every time someone cuts them off. The drivers behind you will get impatient and start taking risks with the overtaking cars in order to get around you.

So many people are so wrapped up in their tiny little lives that they don't recognize their actions as being sinister. They are nearly unaware of the hazards they face or that they produce. The decent driver can only drive to defend himself, continuously.

I think the DMV forgot about Franklin's rule: most people forget in 72 hrs. That includes driving rules and practices. Throw in a decade or so of impatience.

To some degree, the technology you mentioned already exists, Scott. Adaptive cruise control would prevent tailgating (at least in some situations) and GM's Super Cruise would probably do it, too. The problem is that the tailgaters probably wouldn't use it.

There has been a lot of work done in aviation to avoid collisions in 3D space. I have to believe that the technological problem for cars has been pretty much solved and that issues of "personal freedom" and "control" are what limit the implementation. Frankly I'd love to see a system that prevents "tailgating" become a mandatory part of the care just like air bags.

I don't agree with TJ that the analogy holds, because it doesn't structurally. And that's what analogies are about in order to work and to clarify thinking. I also don't agree with the idea that because people flout a law it's a bad law. I do agree with Bryan that the hands-free law makes the most sense, and that "I do not think we should make something legal just because a lot of people want to do it." Well said. Also well said about some cops' attitude to breaking the law.

A few weeks ago, Ford Motor Co. quietly announced that it was rolling out a new wrinkle to the powerful safety feature called stability control, adding even more lifesaving potential to a technology that has already been very successful.

It won't be too much longer and hardware design, as we used to know it, will be remembered alongside the slide rule and the Karnaugh map. You will need to move beyond those familiar bits and bytes into the new world of software centric design.

People who want to take advantage of solar energy in their homes no longer need to install a bolt-on solar-panel system atop their houses -- they can integrate solar-energy-harvesting shingles directing into an existing or new roof instead.

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